Friday, September 19, 2014

Is Jon Lester Enough To Save Slumping A's?

Don't look now, but baseball may be witnessing yet another epic September collapse. The Oakland A's lost again last night (with Sonny Gray giving up four runs in the first inning), and are now in danger of dropping completely out of the post-season picture. This, despite the fact that former Red Sox ace Jon Lester has been lights out since joining The Green and Gold. The big lefty is 5-3 with The Children Of Charley Finley, posting a 2.30 ERA. In 62.2 innings, he's struck out 57. Two nights ago, the A's watched their bullpen implode in a six-run ninth. They've actually been swept by the lowly Rangers at home. Since August 28th, Oakland is 5-15—since August 10th, they are 11-25. Before trading Yoenis Cespedes to the Red Sox, the A's were averaging 5.00 runs a game—since the trade, it's 3.47. So, Lester and the other quality pitchers on the staff may not be enough to keep the A's from choking big time.

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